Filling Gaps & Preserving Your Oral Health
Dental crowns and bridges are restorative dental treatments used to repair damaged or missing teeth, restoring the normal function and appearance of your smile.
Chipped, cracked, or missing teeth can lead to a host of oral health issues because they can make it difficult to effectively keep your teeth clean. By repairing structural problems with a dental crown or bridge, our dentists can help preserve your oral health.
Before either a crown or a bridge can be made, your dentist will need to remove some tooth material on its outer surface and shape it so that the restoration will fit onto it. Your dentist will then take an impression to provide an exact mold for the crown or bridge.
Using this impression, a dental lab will create your dental restoration. While your permanent crown or bridge is being created, a temporary crown or bridge can be placed to cover the prepared tooth. When the permanent crown or bridge is ready, it will be cemented over your prepared tooth.
What is a Dental Crown?
Dental crowns are tooth-shaped caps placed over damaged teeth. They can restore a tooth’s shape, size and strength if they have been damaged due to decay or injury. They can also cover a tooth that has undergone a root canal to protect the tooth from further damage, and to complete a dental implant procedure.
Crowns are strong and can be made from a variety of materials. They look and function like natural teeth, and if cared for properly, can last 10 years or more.
Types of Dental Crowns
There are three types of materials used for crowns, each with their own benefits:
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Porcelain Crowns
These crowns are a popular choice for their durability, natural appearance and ability to be colour-matched with your natural teeth. They are also resistant to staining and can provide long-lasting results when properly maintained.
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Ceramic Crowns
These types of crowns are designed to blend seamlessly with natural teeth, offering a more visually appealing alternative to metal crowns. As a result, they are frequently chosen for front teeth.
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Metal Crowns
These crowns can be made using a variety of metals, such as gold, palladium, nickel, and chromium. Metal crowns are known for their longevity and strength, making them an ideal option for molars.
What is a Dental Bridge?
Bridges are dental prosthetics (artificial teeth) that replace one or more missing teeth by attaching them to adjacent natural teeth or dental implants. Bridges fill in gaps left by missing teeth. This prevents surrounding teeth from shifting out of place, which can cause bite problems and jaw pain.
Dental bridges are made in a dental lab, where lab technicians use precise measurements to craft custom bridges. This helps create an exact fit for a seamless appearance.
Types of Dental Bridges
When it comes to dental bridges, there are three options that can be used to restore your smile:
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Traditional Bridge
A traditional bridge is a dental restoration used to replace one or more missing teeth. Your dentist bonds crowns to your natural teeth on either side of the gap, and the artificial teeth fill in the space between them.
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Implant-Supported Bridge
These are similar to a traditional bridge, but are attached to a dental implant instead of natural teeth. This process may take longer than other types of bridges because your implants must fully integrate (fuse) with your jaw bone before a bridge can be attached.
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Cantilever Bridge
While not as durable as traditional bridges, cantilever bridges are often chosen when there is only one natural tooth next to the gap. Despite their slightly reduced strength, they can still effectively restore your smile in this particular scenario.